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Sunday Summary – October 2, 2016

I’ve recently started sending weekly updates to our Sunday Life Group that include a summary of the Sunday sermon and a summary of our Life Group lesson. The goal is to keep everyone in the group in the loop even if they can’t make it to church every Sunday.

I know it’s tough for a lot of people to make it to church every Sunday so I thought more people may benefit if I post my weekly updates here on the blog. Feel free to check in each week (I’ll try to get them posted by mid-week) or if you’d like to get added to my weekly email list, just shoot me a message – I’ll be happy to add you!

The sermon focused on Barnabas and how his encouragement of others helped grow the church. Like Barnabas, we should also be encouragers of others.
An encourager sees potential in others. We should not show favoritism but instead assign EVERYONE a high value – treat everyone as a “10.” Clay referenced Proverbs 15:23 which says: “How good is a timely word.” By placing value on others and providing encouragement along the way, we can leave a positive impact on the lives of others.
In addition to seeing potential in others, an encourager also makes investments in others. As Christians we should strive to make our biggest investments in the lives others. Our goal should be to impact people (as opposed to merely impress people).
Key Action Items:
– Join the “Compliment Club”: Give 1 sincere compliment to 2 people every day.
– Write a hand written note to someone with the intentional effort to encourage them.

Our life group lesson focused on Paul’s concern for Jews and their possible misunderstanding of righteousness and how to be saved. This concern is still valid today as many people still believe they can earn God’s favor.
Paul noted that to become a Christian we must declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead. Both the inward conviction (believing with the heart) and the outward expression (confessing with the mouth) are important. On a day-to-day basis these two play out in how we center our lives and decisions around Him.
Key Action Items:
– Make time this week to asses your relationship with Jesus. Are you growing closer to Him? Are you studying His Word? Are you sharing the truth of the gospel with others?